2.5 MegaWattBlock for Solar Power Plants grid-supportive, standardized and future-proof
2.5 MegaWattBlock : Welcome to the Future of Solar Technology. With the 2.5 MegaWattBlock, BELECTRIC is setting new standards in solar power production. On a par with the functionality of large conventional power plants, our grid-stabilizing power plant technology makes it possible to intelligently integrate renewable energy sources in existing power grids. This means that grid expansion due to Renewable Energies could be kept to a bare minimum. The 2.5 MegaWattBlock is a high-performance power plant unit, which forms a groundmounted solar power plant, either independently or in combination. This standardized modular design is founded on many years of experience in the realization of power plants around the world. Precisely tailored to the area and customer s requirements, the 2.5 MegaWattBlock stands for an optimum costbenefit ratio and safeguards your investment in the long run. With a performance ratio of up to 85%, the perfectly tailored system design of the 2.5 MegaWattBlock offers above-average system efficiency. The performance ratio is viewed as a meaningful quality indicator in photovoltaics and defines the overall efficiency of a system. The higher the value, the lower the losses through conductors, inverters, and electrical components. The new power plant unit is ready to operate with a maximum system voltage of 1,500V DC. With this higher voltage it is possible to further reduce system and maintenance costs. In addition to system efficiency, the 2.5 MegaWattBlock also sets new standards in terms of reliability. The inverters of the Power Condition Unit achieve a staggering availability rate of over 99% controlled by the BELECTRIC Realtime Management System. These success factors are the result of years of research and development in the field of photovoltaics one of the best types of power generation for the climate and the environment. An integral part of BELECTRIC s vision has always been to produce solar electricity at a lower price than oil and gas (based on world market prices). With the 2.5 MegaWattBlock, this goal has become reality across all climate conditions. The intelligent power plant technology and the standardized system design make it possible. 2
LONDON NEW YORK: This very distance of more than 5,600 kilometres would be the result if we line up all the photovoltaic modules that we have installed worldwide in 2011.
Experienced: A Wealth of In-house Expertise. Since the company was founded in 2001, BELECTRIC delivered single projects exceeding 100 MWp and has installed over 1 GWp of solar power in total. This makes it possible to supply over one million people with electricity. We develop innovative technologies characterized by high energy yields, reliable operation in diverse climates, and low raw material consumption. The high performance 2.5 MegaWattBlock for solar power plants is based on over a decade of system know-how from a company that continuously conducts development, construction, and realization activities itself. The high degree of vertical integration in the production processes has resulted in a leading market position for BELECTRIC. Today, BELECTRIC employs around 2,000 people across the globe in the development & manufacturing of BoS (Balance of Systems) components, plant construction, technical plant management, and many other areas. In-house innovations in all areas of photovoltaics create the foundation for environmentally friendly power supply in the future. The BELECTRIC development team guides numerous photovoltaic visions through to the production stage the research department already registered more than 100 patents, which ensure the highly efficient and reliable operation of solar power plants. More than just EPC: BELECTRIC s core capabilities at a glance Research System Development Manufacturing of Components Photovoltaic Modules Inverter System DC electrical system Substructure Project Development & Construction Permit Project Engineering Project Financing Procurement Logistics & Warehousing Construction Process Manpower Construction Machinery Grid Connection (AC) Operation & Maintenance 4
5
BELECTRIC: Milestones of the World Market Leader According to renowned market research companies such as isuppli and IMS Research, since 2010 BELECTRIC is the global market leader in the development and construction of groundmounted solar power plants and roof-mounted photovoltaic systems. It also became the first company to install more than 1Gigawatt of photovoltaic power in total. All system components (BoS), such as substructures, cabling systems and inverter stations are produced in house at BELECTRIC, enabling perfect tailoring of the individual components of the system design, which in turn results in reduced costs per generated kwh of electricity over the long term and highly efficient results. All work steps under one roof this approach allows BELECTRIC to complete the construction of solar power plants worldwide within the agreed time limit. A further reason for the success of the company is its financial independence. With a very good equity ratio and corresponding credit limit, BELECTRIC is viewed as one of the most reliable partners by investors and banks responsible for project financing. This is confirmed by independent ratings from Creditreform. Founded in 2001 PV Power Installed Innovations Installation Volume per year Honors & Awards More than 1,000 MWp Module clip for laminate/thin-film modules Linear aligned design for ground-mounted solar power plants 3D ramming installation RealTime system monitoring & management Intelligent day-and-night grid stabilization Load management system via charging infrastructure for electric vehicles 1,500 V DC power plant technology Active protection of module degradation through PID protection device Concrete: 50,000m 3 Steel & Aluminum: 50,000t AC & DC Cabling: 3,000 km PV Modules: More than 5 million units Bayerns Best 50 (2009/2011) Intersolar Award 2011 Creditreform Balance Sheet Rating Index No. 122 World Market Leader 2010 & 2011 (IMS Research / isuppli) 6
100 photovoltaic patents are sucessfully registered since 2001. 190 solar power plants has been constructed by BELECTRIC since 2002. 600 employees install 65,000 tons of modules in one year. 5 million m3 of substructure with DC electric system are manufactured annually at our ten production facilities worldwide. 1,000 construction machines and vehicles in the field for BELECTRIC every day. 200,000 hours per year are spend BELECTRIC engineers and technicians working on the development of our products, projects and innovations. 7
2.5 MegaWattBlock : Solar power... 4 2 3 1 The regional power grid of the future: 1 Solar power plant: 10 MWp = 4x 2.5 MegaWattBlock 2 Power Plant Controller and grid access point 3 Transformer station 4 AC power line (medium- and high-voltage grid) 5 6 7 8 Private households Conventional power plant Urban area Industrial area
5 6 7 8 Day & night working grid-stabilizing power plant technology avoids grid extension Intelligent plant management for a reliable power supply Competitive and grid-supportive solar energy...grid-friendly integrated.
System Design: The Components of Success. Our success lies in the system. All components are optimally tailored to their functions. The 2.5 MegaWattBlock is a consistent power plant unit developed for the construction of solar power plants in 2.5 MWp steps. The BELECTRIC system design is characterized by its intelligent combination of high-quality components. Specially developed materials ensure decades of reliable operation, even in extreme environmental conditions. The block design of the successful BELECTRIC product series sets new standards: with its help, it is possible to reduce the levelized costs of electricity even further. power control devices, the PCU is designed to provide reactive power to the full extent of its rated power and to react dynamically to grid voltage deviations - with a power loss lower than 1%. Also the fact that the reactive power control works even without sunlight is a benefit of the BELECTRIC power plant technology. Optimize the economic viability of your investment in solar energy with the new 2.5 MegaWattBlock. The advanced Power Conditioning Unit (PCU) with built-in reactive power control ability helps to improve the stability of the local grid network. Compared to traditional reactive 10
Substructure The laser-precise linear alignment of the substructure has made it possible for each photovoltaic module to receive the same exposure to light. Standardized components manufactured from high-quality raw materials in heavy industrial-grade and series production. The installation is high-precision and machine-assisted. The substructure is always optimized to the local environmental conditions and static load requirements. Module technology BELECTRIC consistently promotes photovoltaic modules with modern thin-film technology. These comply with the newest state-of-the-art technologies, ensure optimal use of solar irradiation and require significantly fewer raw materials during production than traditional silicon-based technologies. So within the first year of operation, they generate more energy than was required to produce the modules. The 2.5 MegaWattBlock may also be equipped with other module technologies, upon customer s request.
Power Plant Controller (PPC) The intelligent control unit monitors the grid access points and regulates the electrical current flow of the solar power plant and adjusts the voltage using reactive power. Specially developed voltage sensors and software algorithms detect emerging grid requirements and react automatically. Reliable support for the local grid. With the Real-time Management system all grid access points and solar power plant data are permanently available to be monitored. The web interface offers a huge variety of logging and analyzing tools. With the extensive analysis and logging functions, you always have data on the solar power plant output with all its parameters at hand. This basic data makes it possible to avoid system failures and to increase operating safety. Power Conditioning Unit (PCU) The specially developed Power Conditioning Unit (PCU) includes an intelligent inverter system with up to 1500V DC system voltage and a transformer station. The inverter system is optimized for the use of thin-film module technologies and is characterized by the high level of system efficiency. The built-in PID protection device reduces the module degradation effect. A typical public grid shows many voltage deviations produced by different power loads. The dynamic reactive power capability of the PCU stabilizes the public grid voltage - day and night. The PCU with its medium-voltage grid supply in outdoor construction enables optimum accessibility and easy maintenance of the system.
New Technology: For a Stable Power Grid. The existing power grid was originally designed as a distribution grid: large power plants produce power centrally at high and highest voltage levels for consumers at a lower voltage level. This concept endured unchanged for almost 100 years. However, the installation of renewable energy sources over the past decade has brought about the addition of energy generators at low and medium voltage level. The result: a significantly more complex, distributed grid structure. With the 2.5 MegaWattBlock, BELECTRIC provides the electricity suppliers with an essential component for sustainably stabilizing the power grids. The solution is an intelligent control unit that can be used to smoothly integrate the new product range into the worldwide power grids and to combine them with conventional power plants. Thus, this new technology contributes significantly to the improvement of the grid stability for operators and consumers, establishes photovoltaics as decisive part of the energy mix, and makes the costly extension of the power grids redundant. High-voltage grid Medium-voltage grid Low-voltage grid Renewable Energies Photovoltaic rooftop system with standard reactive power control S Sensor system to measure the electrical grid data Q Reactive power Active power (consumption P and generation) Arrows show the direction of energy S Relay station Central computer: Monitoring of grid access points Solar Power Plant P 3 ~ ~ Q S P Consumer load: Industry Full range of cos φ > 0 (ind.) to cos φ > 0 (cap.) ~ Reactive Power Control at day and night Q 3 P S Relay station S PV rooftop system Small range of cos φ = 0.9 (ind.) to 0.9 (cap.) P Consumer load: Towns and communes P P P Grid-stabilizing power plant technologies create new capacities into the regional power grid 14
Depending on the corresponding country-specific specifications, the voltage in the public power grids must be maintained in a voltage corridor so that electrical loads are not damaged. Furthermore, fluctuations should be minimized in order to allow for smooth operation. The reasons for voltage deviations are fluctuating feed-in of renewable energies and unforeseeable consumer loads. Grid stabilization by means of reactive power control The reactive power is an electrotechnical variable caused by a phase shift of the current intensity regarding the electrical voltage. The reactive power occurs everywhere in the power grid, is a necessary element for the current flow, and has a significant influence on the grid voltage. BELECTRIC uses this effect and is able to reduce the share of reactive power in the power grid on the one hand, and to increase the aforementioned deliberately on the other hand. This intervention results in the option of changing the mains voltage as required and with low electrical loss (<1%). 240 237.5 235 232.5 230 227.5 225 225.5 Germany, energy generation plants must provide reactive power during normal operation in order to compensate the deviations in voltage they re causing. At this point, BELECTRIC goes the extra mile, to stabilize the regional power grid actively opposed to traditional reactive power control units: The reactive power is available independently of the solar irradiation during the day and at night. The reactive power is controlled to the full extent of the connected power of the plant. The reactive power control can be adapted within milliseconds between cos φ > 0 (inductive) to cos φ > 0 (capacitive). The reactive power control unit can be either run in automatic mode (within the power utility companies parameters regarding the local grid requirements) or in semi-automatic mode accessible by an active external control signal. 220 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 Currently, rather different grid connection directives and requirements are applicable in the countries. In Voltage [V] Grid-voltage WITHOUT reactive power control: 240 237.5 235 232.5 230 227.5 225 225.5 220 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 Grid-voltage WITH reactive power control: 240 237.5 235 232.5 230 227.5 225 225.5 220 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 15
In safe hands: The BELECTRIC team. When you choose BELECTRIC solar power plants, you choose technology with decadeslong endurance and if you wish, during this time you are never on your own, not even for a second. The BELECTRIC team supports with the financing of the investment in solar technology. We negotiate with banks and credit institutions and, when you desire, draw up detailed financing plans as well as attractive financing concepts. We will also gladly support you in the choice of necessary insurances. The generation of electrical power from sunlight is almost wear-free and very little maintenance is required. Continuous monitoring of the 2.5 MegaWattBlocks is still advisable to prevent avoidable yield losses. The long service life demands professional management, during which BELECTRIC adopts all technical tasks when you so desire. Remote power plant monitoring, regular inspections which include visual and function checks, cleaning services, on-site service in the event of a fault and detailed maintenance reports and documentation aid the continual monitoring and management. Depending on the location, the service package is of course tailored to the country-specific conditions. With the BELECTRIC service team, highly qualified and experienced colleagues are available without restriction to maintain the value of our customer s investments throughout the decades. 16
17
2.5 MegaWattBlock : Technical data. BELECTRIC 2.5 MegaWattBlock Total nominal power: Required area: up to 2,500kWp Central Europe approx. 35,000m² Southwestern USA approx. 30,000m² Middle East approx. 25,000m² Power plant height: Power grid supply: approx. 3.0m with 20 module incline BELECTRIC Power Conditioning Unit (PCU): Power plant inverter system, transformer station Dynamic reactive power control (24/7) 10kV to 33kV medium-voltage power grid (50/60Hz) BELECTRIC Power Plant Controller (PPC): Controlling and monitoring of the 2.5 MegaWattBlocks Module degradation reduction: Built-in PID protection device Photovoltaic modules: System efficiency: System voltage: Leading Thin-film technologies: First Solar, Solar Frontier First Solar: IEC 61646, UL 1703, TÜV Safety Class II Solar Frontier: IEC 61646, IEC 61730, UL 1703, RoHS EU Directive Further module technologies on customer request. up to 85% (Performance Ratio) max. 1,500 V DC Valid air temperature: up to 50 C (optional to 55 C) Monitoring: Operating service life: BELECTRIC Service package with real-time monitoring system > 20 years with BELECTRIC service package Guidelines and standards: The 2.5 MegaWattBlock meets current country-specific guidelines and standards Disposal: Recyclability of all components used Technical changes are reserved. Customer specific solutions on request. 18
Sustainability. Photovoltaics improves the CO 2 balance! The 2.5 MegaWattBlock performs a valuable, decades-long contribution to emisson-free energy generation and is consistently focused on recyclability. Solar power plants in nature: BELECTRIC ground-mounted solar power plants integrate into various landscapes and do not disturb the natural habitat of plants and animals alike. Partially shaded areas also suffice to allow enough sunlight and precipitation to reach the ground. 19
The better electric. www.belectric.com 1 0 0 0 MWp FIRST COMPANY WITH OVER 1 GIGAWATT SOLAR POWER INSTALLED 3 9 1 MWp 1 7 WORLD LEADING PV-SYSTEM INTEGRATOR IN 2011 BELECTRIC IS PRESENT IN 17 COUNTRIES BELECTRIC Headquarters Germany Regional offices: Australia, Chile, Czech Republic, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kindom, USA Rev. 2012_0904_EN BELECTRIC Solarkraftwerke GmbH Wadenbrunner Straße 10 97509 Kolitzheim, Germany Phone +49 9385 9804-0 Fax +49 9385 9804-590 info@belectric.com www.belectric.com